GDC: Sakaguchi, Molyneux, and Muzyka discuss the future of RPGs

Three major industry faces come together at GDC to discuss the constructive process beyond making an RPG and what defines the genre itself.

By Frederick Cannon

Moderated by GameHead host Geoff Keighley, "The Evolution of RPG Development" was a 40-minute panel discussion focusing on the evolution of the role-playing game and what is crucial to the process of making an RPG.

Leading the panel were BioWare's Raz Muzyka, responsible for the upcoming 360 game Mass Effect, the renowned Peter Molyneux of Lionhead Studios, and Mistwalker's Hironobu Sakaguchi, recognised as the creator of Final Fantasy, one of the longest running RPGs in gaming history. All three developers are currently working on RPG projects to be released exclusively on the Xbox 360.

The discussion opened with a simple question on Keighley's behalf: what defines a game as an RPG? Muzyka started the debate with an explanation of BioWare's approach to games in general and the four key areas they focus on: a good story and characters, a sense of exploration, character progression, and immersive combat.

The rest of the panel were quick to agree, a common occurrence during the talk, with all three men sharing a strong mutual respect for the other's view. Molyneux's approach, however, focused less on game mechanics and more on the experience of the game itself.

"For me, it comes back to this one simple phrase: "'Role-playing game.' You are playing a role," Molyneux defined. "What I want to experiment with, and what I want to experiment with is to say, 'What it should feel like to be a hero? To start off as nothing and end up being a hero? That is an emotional journey you're going through, and that's my real focus."

Sakaguchi, though not a native English speaker, was on hand to offer his thoughts with the aid of a translator. He believes that, in order to create a strong RPG, one needs "to tell a great storyline and [offer] characters and a world view that players can relate to." Exploration and accomplishment were also key factors in his approach.

The subject of how the games should be approached was next in the discussion, with each other person taking a different stance on their current preference. Molyneux used Fable as an example of the benefit of real-time combat, whilst most of Sakaguchi's games have traditionally relied on a turn-based system. Muzyka, meanwhile, stood in the middle ground on the issue, citing Mass Effect and previous BioWare RPGs as successful blends of both real time and turned based elements.

During this talk, Sakaguchi noted that he would also be concentrating on games that would be "based on new, different ideas," but did not elaborate on anything more specific.

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